Put all your errands and chores aside. Here’s a book for a weekend of binge reading. Years ago, I read a book called Night Sky by Clare Francis that I've held up as the standard for great historical fiction ever since. The Nightingale is now my new standard. What these two books have in common is the French resistance during the Nazi occupation. Two very different sisters take dangerous paths trying to preserve love, family and freedom. It felt true in all its heartbreak, horror and courage.

This is the best kind of mystery. When Alison Carter disappears from her small provincial English town in 1963, there are lasting effects on all the townspeople and the police who investigated. Complex characters and realistic portrayal of place and time plus a sense that we won't know what really happened until the last page makes this a standout psychological thriller.

It would be impossible not to be moved by the photo of The Migrant Mother (Florence Owens Thompson) taken during the depression in 1936 by Dorothea Lange. Mary Coin is historical fiction based on these two women and this iconic photo. The character of Mary is a woman who had few choices, widowed at 32 with 6 children, she lives in a tent and moves from farm to farm for a few weeks work. Vera Dale is the fictional character of Dorothea Lange, stricken with polio as a child, whose sympathy for suffering of others is evident in her photography. This photo and this story will stick with me for a long time.

As I finished the last sentence, my reaction was "Yes!" Four children with a loving, wise pediatrician father and a withdrawn mother. Growing up, the children try to come up with ways to include their mother who seems uninvolved and only interested in her art. Each of the children plays a role in the family dynamic and James, the youngest, is often the cause of stress and conflict. I loved them all.

This moving memoir, Fuller’s third, traces her departure from her native Africa for the United States and the eventual unraveling of her marriage to American travel guide Charlie Ross. As she works through the heartbreak of her loss, she senses her slow unmooring from the Africa she grew up in and from her stoic, uncompromising father. She describes her bewilderment upon arrival in America, so different from the chaotic, war-torn Africa of her childhood. She struggles to understand the cultural differences, specifically the orderliness, the abundance, and the isolation from tragedy that are taken for granted in the States. This cultural divide seems to lend itself to her marriage too. Alexandra is like Africa: volatile, emotional, impulsive, while Charlie represents American pragmatism, planning, and judiciousness. This flawed merging of opposites simply cannot sustain itself, and finally gives way to frustration and divorce, retold in unsparing detail by Fuller.

I had not read Fuller’s two previous books, but knowing how well-received they were, I thought I should pick this one up, and I quickly realized that the praise of her writing is definitely not exaggerated. She has an astonishing gift with words. Her sentences flow magically into each other, and she conveys imagery so vividly you can almost touch it. Most wonderful are her descriptions of the people around her, especially her father: “He seemed airdropped upon us, formed from soil and water, like Adam. And if he was sprung from earth, there was nothing of his smell of behavior or look that suggested otherwise. He was elemental, eternal, as if a version of him had always existed in perpetual adulthood.” With language like that, I just couldn’t stop reading! Fuller exposes the joys and wounds of her adult life with courage and grace. It's a beautiful, fascinating read.

As family vacation time approaches, and the reality of spending long hours in the car with the family starts to sink in. DO. NOT. PANIC. We’ve got you covered! Along with games, snacks and electronic devices, why don’t you consider adding a couple of audiobooks that can be enjoyed by the entire family? Cook Library District has thousands of audiobooks on CD and even more e-audiobooks which can be downloaded to a device and many of them are family-friendly.

Below are some lists of great audiobooks for families, along with descriptions and links to the catalog.

When Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa’s latest book came out, I knew I wanted to read it. I am a readers’ advisor, but have never read anything by Vargas Llosa, who was honored in 2010 with one of the greatest awards in literature. It was time for me to check out one of the most significant writers in Latin America.

After reading The Discreet Hero, I plan to read this great author’s other books. Reviewers have praised this newest novel, but said his earlier works are even better. He truly is a master storyteller. The streets of Peru come alive with his vivid writing. I felt the sweltering heat of the day trickling down the backs of the colorful characters walking down the Peruvian streets. He also is gifted at weaving different storylines together into a satisfying ending.

The Discreet Hero is a dark comedy about three honorable men trying to take control of their lives and their relationships with their sons.

Septuagenarian Ismael Carrera runs a prosperous insurance company in Lima. But when he has a heart attack and is in the hospital, he overhears his two wild sons plotting what they will do with his money when he dies. His sons, nicknamed “the hyenas’’, are nothing but trouble, and only know how to party and spend money. He is determined to survive and make sure his sons don’t get a cent of his fortune.

Carrera is helped by his attorney, Don Rigoberto, who is dealing with his own problems. Rigoberto’s planned retirement trip to Europe is postponed because he gets enmeshed in his boss’s problems. To make matters worse, Rigoberto’s teenage son, Fonchito, keeps seeing an older man namedEdilberto Torreswho no one else sees. Is his son going mad? Is he seeing the devil? Is he lying?

A third father, Felícito Yanaqué, is a self-made man who operates a successful trucking company in Piura with his two sons. One day he receives a blackmail threat saying that he must pay a protection fee, otherwise his business and life will be in jeopardy. When Yanaqué refuses, his business is burned down. He still refuses to give in, which escalates the threats. He also is troubled about his difficult relationship with his oldest son, who has never looked remotely like him.

All the storylines ultimately come together with Vargas Llosa’s masterful touch. He vividly captures the culture of Peru with imagination and humor. He also uses an interesting writing technique where he intersperses an old conversation with a new one, giving the sensation of a flashback.

If you want to take a wild, funny journey to South America without leaving home, pick up A Discreet Hero.

In Ireland, a common greeting among friends is “What’s the Story?” As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, celebrations will bring out the Irish in all of us. What can be more Irish than the tradition of storytelling, one of the main forms of fireside entertainment among the ordinary folk.

You might think that Irish stories are full of sorrow and loss, from the Great Potato Famine to the Troubles, influence of the Catholic Church and hardscrabble lives. All of those themes appeal to my Irish roots but I’m also attracted to the beautiful, rugged landscape, the hospitality and humor of the Irish people in spite of their traumatic history.

Among these favorites, I’ve included a cross section of Irish tales, including mysteries and Irish American stories.

Kevin and Enda Dennehy have been living in their small coastal village in the West of Ireland for nearly half a century, the perfect picture of a contented and frugal married couple. But Kevin tells Father Declan that he and Enda are not man and wife, then dies before he can explain the details. It is left to Enda to tell the priest "the all of it." Jeannette Haien’s award-winning first novel relates the seemingly simple tale of a parishioner confiding in her priest, but the tangled confession brings secrets to light that provoke a moral quandary for not only the clergyman, but the reader as well.

‘’Mammy" is what Irish children call their mothers and The Mammy is Agnes Browne--a widow struggling to raise seven children in a North Dublin neighborhood in the 1960s. Popular Irish comedian Brendan O’Carroll affectionately chronicles the comic misadventures of this large and lively family. Forced to be mother, father, and referee to her battling clan, the ever-resourceful Agnes Browne occasionally finds a spare moment to trade gossip and quips with her best pal Marion Monks and even finds herself pursued by the amorous Frenchman who runs the local pizza parlor.

Delightful Mary McGreevy is a redheaded force to be reckoned with, but no one seems able to figure her out. After 16 years in a convent, Mary decides to revoke her vows as a nun and return to her home of Kildawree, Ireland, to become an independent farmer. As if that weren't scandal enough for a traditional little village, she wants to have a child and does not want to marry. When she is noticeably "in the family way," her friends and neighbors are doubly horrified that she refuses to express remorse or to confess the name of her unborn child's father.

When Billy, the glue of a tight Irish community in New York, dies as a result of lifelong alcohol abuse, mourners gather at the wake to tell tales and ruminate on his struggle for happiness after he lost his first love, Eva. McDermott, who won the National Book Award for this work, explores the devastation of alcoholism, the loss of innocence and the redeeming unity of family and friendship.

Fegan has been a "hard man," an IRA killer in northern Ireland. Now that peace has come, he is being haunted day and night by twelve ghosts: a mother and infant, a schoolboy, a butcher, a constable, and seven other of his innocent victims. In order to appease them, he's going to have to kill the men who gave him orders.

In 1845, New York City forms its first police force and the great potato famine hits Ireland, sending thousands of Irish families to New York searching for a better life. Timothy Wilde tends bar, saving every dollar in hopes of winning the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams are destroyed by a fire that devastates downtown Manhattan, he is left with little choice but to accept a job in the newly minted New York City Police Department, mostly made up of scrappy downtrodden Irishmen. Timothy begins investigating the claims of a precocious 10 years old girl who claims that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of Twenty-Third Street.

When farmers cutting turf in an Irish peat bog make a grisly discovery -- the perfectly preserved head of a young woman with long red hair -- Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin must use cutting-edge techniques to preserve ancient evidence. Because the bog's watery, acidic environment prevents decay, it's difficult to tell how long the red-haired girl has been buried -- two years, two centuries, or even much longer. Who is she? The extraordinary find leads to even more disturbing puzzles in this remote corner of Galway.

In A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler shows us once again that she is a master of domestic fiction. Her knack for capturing characters and making them not just real, but recognizable, is outstanding. And she absolutely nails dialogue. Take, for example, the opening scene of this book. Red and Abby Whitshank, settling in for the night in their comfortable bedroom, receive a brief phone call from their adult son Denny, who tells them he’s gay. The next nine pages are comprised solely of the conversation between Red and Abby as they desperately try to process this information (which turns out to be false anyway). And it’s perfect. Already, you feel as though you know both characters—the stoic husband, the empathic, social-worker wife—and how their interactions are going to go. Eventually we meet the wayward Denny, as well as his siblings and their spouses and children, who are all brought together by the necessity of caring for their aging parents.

Not much actually happens in this book. Well, that’s not exactly true. Not much happens on the surface of this book. What seems like a leisurely stroll through the lives of three generations of the Whitshank family is actually an exploration of the façade they live behind. The seemingly placid foundation on which the Whitshanks have built their legacy isn’t what they think it is at all. There aren’t any earth-shaking revelations or overly dramatic moments (as Tyler writes, “The Whitshanks weren’t a melodramatic family”). Slowly but surely, though, Tyler exposes the reader to the real stories behind the family, the tiny fissures that often go unnoticed but that build up over time. Her deft touch means you don’t always recognize the significance of an interaction until much later, just as in real life.

Tyler has said in an interview that this is her last novel. I suppose we can’t blame her (she published her first novel in 1964, after all), but I’ll be very sad to lose her subtle, thoughtful, funny voice.

Welcome to Warp Zone! This is the third installment of our video game blog, which features new or interesting games that can be checked out for free with your library card.

Gamers can be a nostalgic group. In fact, the name of this blog is inspired by the first Super Mario Bros. game I played as a child. Game-makers know that many gamers wish to revisit the types of games they played growing up. There have been a few of these throwback games that have been released recently and the library has you covered for your retro gaming needs.

NES Remix (Wii U, 3DS)—This game puts a new spin on levels from classic games made famous by Nintendo. Players will face new challenges from old 8-bit classics like Super Mario Bros., Metroid, Excitebike, Punch-out!!, and many more. This game is brand new to our collection and I’ve been looking forward to playing it with my nieces and nephew in hopes of introducing them to the games of my childhood. It is sure to provide throwback challenges appropriate for most kids and adults.

Terraria (PS4, Xbox One)—Old-school graphics on next-gen consoles? Why not? While this is a new game, it has been described as a 2D Minecraft with super Nintendo graphics. However, this isn’t simply a rethinking of Minecraft. Terraria takes what makes Minecraft a great game and adds more action and the ability to create weapons. It also received great reviews from leading video game websites. This game is highly recommended for teens and adults.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One)—While Halo may have a few years before it is considered old school, it's widely known as one of the best first-person shooter franchises. This collection assembles all four Halo games in one package with updated graphics. This is a must play for fans of the series or for those that were too young to play Halo on the original Xbox cica 2001. Recommended for older teens and adults.

Much has been said in recent weeks, both good and bad, about the growing number of Hollywood celebrities who use the high-profile public platform afforded them at Hollywood's annual film and television award shows to speak out on a host of social issues. This year's Oscar ceremony, for example, featured various stars expressing opinions on issues relating to equal pay for women, immigration, lack of diversity in the film industry, and freedom and justice in the black community. While the latest comments by today's stars fuel current headlines, the practice itself is certainly not new.

The 45th annual Academy Awards show in March 1973 was marked by controversy when respected actor Marlon Brando boycotted the ceremony. Brando, nominated that year for his iconic role as Don Vito Corelone in The Godfather, sent little-known Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Littlefeather made Academy Award history when she, at Brando's behest, refused to accept the Oscar awarded the actor for his performance. Upon reaching the stage after Brando's name was called, Littlefeather read a statement prepared by the actor in which he explained that his refusal of the award was made in protest over the manner in which Native Americans were portrayed in film. Brando, who spent part of his high school years in Libertyville, remains one of only two Oscar recipients to ever refuse the prize. Also part of the exclusive club is actor George C. Scott, who refused the Oscar awarded him for his leading role in the 1970 film Patton because of his deeply held belief that acting should not be competitive.

Brando's role in The Godfather is still considered one of his greatest performances. You can find all three of the Godfather films on DVD and Blu-ray at the library. Make sure you don't miss Brando in his other Oscar-winning role as an ex-prizefighter turned longshoreman in On the Waterfront. The classic 1954 film, which also stars Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, and Lee J. Cobb, was nominated for a total of twelve Academy Awards. It ultimately took home eight of the trophies, including the prize for best picture.

Whenever Willie "the postie" comes to the door to deliver a telegram with his head bowed and refuses to come in, the villagers all know that he is delivering yet more bad news: Someone's son, brother, or lover has died in the war. As the inhabitants of Drumnadrochit, a small Scottish village, struggle to absorb the losses of their young soldiers and survive the hardships and economic deprivations of World War II, along comes a trio of young, wealthy, and brash Americans on a mission to find evidence of Nessie, the famous Loch Ness monster.

Unable to serve in the U.S. army due to flat-footedness and color blindness, Americans Ellis and Hank are desperate to find photographic evidence of Nessie, to prove Ellis's worth to his father. They drag along with them Ellis's hapless young wife Maddie. Although the villagers (and this reader) grow increasingly impatient with the haughty attitudes and rude behaviors of these young tourists, they bring needed money into the village and must be tolerated. Until their behavior threatens the lives of others.

Once again Sara Gruen's careful research and brilliant storytelling took this reader to a small corner of the world as it was buffeted by historical events and drew me into the lives of her well-drawn characters. This is a book I won't soon forget. At the Water's Edgeis highly recommended for fans of historical fiction and is a book I could comfortably recommend to older teens.

I love audiobooks. In fact, sometimes I find myself wishing my commute to work were longer so I could listen to more stories! Audiobooks even make housecleaning seem fun. And did you know that at CMPLD, there are two different ways of getting them? Of course there’s the tried-and-true method of checking out audio CDs from our collection, but we also have more than 8,000 eAudio titles available digitally through MyMediaMall. Now that I’ve gotten used to downloading audiobooks, I don’t listen to the CDs very often. Downloading is just so convenient.

To suggest some titles for you, I polled the Fiction, Movies, and Music staff to see what titles they would recommend. (This way you’re not just stuck with my recommendations.) I have so many titles that I’ll come back later with more! But for now, here are a few.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (recommended by Becky)

This New York Times bestseller was also nominated for a National Book Award. It takes readers to a dystopian future landscape where most of the population has been lost to a pandemic. Lest the word “dystopian” makes you think “young adult novel,” don’t be fooled. This is a grownup book—suspenseful, elegiac, and beautiful, with terrific narration by Audiofile Magazine award-winner Kirsten Potter.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (recommended by Ellen)

This book is a love story, a tension-filled crime story, and an atmospheric portrait of a fascinating time and place. Set in London in 1922, a widow and her daughter take in a young couple as lodgers, not realizing how far-reaching the consequences of this will be. Juliet Stevenson, the narrator, is a British actress who’s well-versed in narrating British classics and who has won awards for her audiobook readings.

Revival by Stephen King (recommended by Connie)

Narrated by veteran actor David Morse, Revival is “a dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life” (from the publisher). Spanning five decades, it is tender and terrifying, but also culturally accurate, filled with details about daily life in America. This book will have you glued to your speakers!

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (recommended by Lindsay)

This book is the first in Peters’ Amelia Peabody historical mystery series, in which intrepid amateur sleuth Peabody travels to Egypt and finds herself on the trail of a disappearing mummy. Witty, well-plotted, and detailed, this book will transport you back to the 19th century with a female Indiana Jones. Barbara Rosenblat, the narrator, does terrific characterizations with her resonant voice.

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson (recommended by yours truly)

This is the tale of saucy Arlene Fleet, who flees her Podunk hometown in Alabama only to discover that her past has followed her to Chicago. In this fast-paced, funny book, Jackson takes on familiar themes of the South (racism, religion), but in a light-hearted, non-preachy way. Narrator Catherine Taber, a Georgia native, does the Southern dialects beautifully and makes the story come alive.

Did you catch the Oscars on Sunday night? The expected battle between Boyhoodand Birdman for best picture honors tipped in Birdman's favor by the end of the evening, with the latter film taking home four of the top trophies: best picture, best director, cinematography, and original screenplay.

Michael Keaton, a best actor nominee for Birdman and thought to be the sentimental favorite, lost his race to the equally deserving Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). Otherwise, the acting winners were no real surprise. Julianne Moore picked up the best actress trophy for her moving performance as a victim of early-onset Alzheimer's Disease in Still Alice; Patricia Arquette continued her sweep of the year's major acting awards with a win for her supporting performance as a struggling single mother in Boyhood; and J. K. Simmons deservedly took home best supporting actor honors for his devastating performance as a sadistic music teacher in Whiplash.

My favorite moment of the evening had to be the musical tribute to The Sound of Music, which featured Lady Gaga belting out a show-stopping medley of the film's best-loved tunes in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the release of the classic film. Her performance seemed to come as a surprise to those who don't know that the pop diva, known for her on-stage shtick and over-the-top costumes, is actually a classically trained singer. Take another look at her performanceon YouTube. For more proof of Lady Gaga's legit singing chops, check out her most recent album, the Grammy Award–winning Cheek to Cheek, which pairs the pop star with the legendary Tony Bennett in a series of memorable duets from the great American songbook. This lady can certainly belt with the best of them!

Perhaps the only thing capable of topping Gaga's The Sound of Music tribute was an appearance by Fraulein Maria herself, and the audience erupted when Dame Julie Andrews joined Gaga onstage. Andrews, still stunning at age 79, has enjoyed an incredible career onstage and in film, and was clearly moved by the pop star's rendition of some of her greatest hits. When Andrews expressed dismay over the fact that it has been 50 years since The Sound of Music first hit the silver screen, I couldn't help but share her surprise.

The singer/actress has received three Oscar nominations over the course of her long career. In addition to her Oscar-winning film debut in Mary Poppins, Andrews earned best actress nods for her iconic turn as the novice-turned-governess in The Sound of Music, and again for her gender-bending turn as a female impersonator in the delightful musical comedy Victor/Victoria. You can find all three of these films at the library. We also have new copies of the 50th anniversaryDVD and Blurayeditions of The Sound of Music on order, which include a new one-hour documentary about the making of the film. The documentary is hosted by Andrews and features her recent return to Salzburg, Austria, where much of the movie was shot.

Another year of great films is under our belt. Let's see what movie magic will be created in 2015.

The three Americans who travel to Scotland to get proof of the Loch Ness monster in 1945 are privileged, snobbish, self-centered, and considered rude by the village and inn they descend upon. The fact that Hank’s flat feet and Ellis’ colorblindness have made them unable to fight in the war causes suspicion in the town. Ellis, who wants to get his allowance back, and Hank who is rich and bored, go off on Loch Ness hunts and drink themselves into a stupor daily. Meanwhile, Maddie enrages her husband Ellis when she makes friends and pitches in to help at the inn. I loved the Scottish village and hardworking characters who are dealing with rationing, and Maddie who rises above her own troubled background to break away from the wasted life she’s been living.

Detective Carl Mørck, introduced in The Keeper of Lost Causes, is a brilliant but flawed detective assigned to run Department Q, the home of Copenhagen’s coldest cases. When an intriguing case lands on his desk, he finds that the supposedly solved case of the brutal murder of a brother and sister two decades earlier involves a group of privileged former boarding-school students. One of the former students is Kimmie, now a woman living on the streets, who has secrets that influential people would kill to keep buried. Adler-Olsen, Denmark’s #1 crime author, writes a twisty thriller that includes splashes of humor while leaving out excessive graphic details.

In 1851, a French Jesuit priest, Fr. Latour, is given a missionary post as bishop of Santa Fe in the New Mexico territory, newly annexed to the United States. He arrives with a fellow priest and friend, Fr. Vaillant. They find themselves up against Mexican and Indian customs and beliefs, a harshly beautiful landscape, rebellious priests, and loneliness. Based on the missionary priest Fr. Jean Baptiste Lamy, the first bishop of Santa Fe, Cather writes about the distances the priests needed to travel to bring art, culture, religious instruction, and sacraments to the primitive villages of New Mexico. Told in episodes, a quiet and gentle life of faith and dedication is revealed.

This is a timely, compassionate novel about choices parents are forced to make when they cross the border into America and the danger for the children they leave behind. Eleven-year-old Carla and her 6-year-old brother Junior are left in the care of their grandmother since their mother made the illegal journey to Texas several years ago. When their grandmother dies, the children leave the violence of Honduras in hopes of reuniting with their mother, joining the thousands of children making their way from Mexico to the United States. Meanwhile, Alice and Jake are happily married and thriving owners of a barbecue restaurant in Austin, Texas, but Alice aches for the child that would make their life complete. Two families on both sides of the border put a human face on today’s immigration issues.

Looking for a fun and new way to engage with books, writers, and reading? Look no further than the 11th Annual Tournament of Books sponsored by the Morning News.

The Tournament of Books (or ToB to those in the know) is a bracket-type competition that runs through the month of March. Two novels face off against each other and one judge declares a winner to advance to the next round, leading up to the championship round and the awarding of The Rooster. The ToB is a smart, funny, and thought-provoking look at books and readers. The judges write a summary of each book and discuss their personal reaction to the characters, the writing, or themes. There is follow-up commentary to each round by the creators of the ToB, either praising the choice or ripping it to shreds, sometimes both when the color commentators don’t agree. Totally subjective? Absolutely, but that is the nature of the reading life.

In 1931 S. R. Ranganathan published his Five Laws of Library Science, in which he states, "Every reader his [her] book / Every book its reader" (laws 2 and 3), simply meaning that we all have our reading preferences, and that is okay. You see these laws at work as the 16 contenders in this year's Tournament of Books are thoroughly examined, dissected, praised, made fun of, and appreciated. The dialogue is always respectful and intelligent. You will find yourself rooting for your favorite titles of the year or scratching your head, wondering how another title never found its way onto your radar. The sheer variety of books makes the line-up a must for any avid reader looking for their next great read.

Go on and download your brackets! Follow along at home and cheer on some of the most interesting books of the past year. To download your brackets and learn more about the 2015 Tournament of Books, visit the ToB site here.

In Michael Crummey's moving new novel, he describes how a family of Swedes settled on a small island off of Newfoundland more than 200 years ago and christened it Sweetland after their family name. They were hard-working fishermen, and made a living catching the plentiful cod from the ocean.

Now the government has decided it does not want to support the island anymore. The island residents have been offered a resettlement package of $100,000 per family to relocate. However, the deal is only good if everyone takes it. The one holdout is crotchety old Moses Sweetland, who is determined to spend the rest of his days on the island .Moses, 69, lived his entire life on Sweetland, except for a couple excursions to the mainland to look for work. He eventually became the island’s lighthouse keeper but lost that job ten years ago when the light was automated. The retired bachelor now spends a lot of time with his niece Clara’s autistic son, Jesse.

When the government deal is offered, Moses is pressured to take the package by Clara and the other islanders. He refuses, and starts receiving nasty anonymous threats to make him change his mind. The story follows Sweetland’s battle to remain in his home, while giving flashbacks to his life and the history of the island. The story quietly reflects on the how these outpost islands were devastated by the Canadian government’s moratorium on cod fishing twenty years ago.

Moses Sweetland is an intriguing character whose curmudgeonly ways make him endearing. Michael Crummey, a native Newfoundlander, wonderfully captures the feel of living on a remote island and the residents’ unique talking style. Sweetland is a novel about how the changing times affect so many lives. It’s about love and loss and perseverance. I highly recommend this heartrending story about a man who would never give up, never give in.

Who knew more about love than William Shakespeare? There are so many memorable quotes about love and not enough space to include here. I’ll narrow it down to one from A Midsummer Night’s Dream that applies to every love story.

“The course of true lovenever did run smooth.”

In fiction, it’s the “never did run smooth” part that makes a story worth reading.

Even if you say you don’t like or don’t read romances or love stories, there are simply too many kinds of love stories in the world of fiction to exclude a whole genre. Romance and even true love show up in most science fiction, mystery, thrillers, westerns, and literary novels. Maybe Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts, and Sandra Brown don’t appeal to you, but here are some really good books that include happily ever after.

Last Letter from your Lover by JoJo MoyesIn 1960, Jennifer Stirling wakes in the hospital with no memory of her name, her wealthy husband, or the car accident that put her there. Her only clue is a passionate letter, signed simply "B," from a man for whom she seemed willing to risk everything. In 2003, journalist Ellie Haworth stumbles upon the letter and becomes obsessed with learning the fate of the two lovers, hoping it will inspire her own happy ending.

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane MoriartyEllen O’Farrell is a professional hypnotherapist with a turbulent relationship history, who works out of the beachfront home she inherited from her grandparents. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and he seems to like her, too. The catch is that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking.

Love Walked In by Marisa de los SantosWhen Martin Grace enters the hip Philadelphia coffee shop Cornelia Brown manages, her life changes forever. Meanwhile, across town, Clare Hobbs—eleven years old and abandoned by her erratic mother—goes looking for her lost father. When Clare arranges to meet up with her father at the café, an improbable friendship develops between Clare and Cornelia that will sustain them through the unpredictable course of life and love.

ICouldn’t Love You More by Jillian Medoff

Eliot Gordon would do anything for her family. A 38-year-old working mother, she lives an ordinary but fulfilling life in suburban Atlanta with her partner, Grant Delaney, and their three daughters. Eliot attempts to maintain a safe, happy household for her blended family. Then Finn Montgomery, Eliot's long-lost first love, appears, triggering a shocking chain of events that culminates in a split-second decision that will haunt her beloved family forever.

After borrowing a quote from Shakespeare, it seems a fitting ending to hear words of wisdom from Eva Gabor. A socialite and actress who had nine husbands, she must have known a thing or two about love...or maybe not! Gabor wisely said, “Love is a game that two can play and both can win.”

]]>cregan@cooklib.org (Connie Regan)ReadwatchlistenFri, 13 Feb 2015 14:13:36 -0600Cook Library Cinema Club: Love Gone Wronghttp://cooklib.org/index.php/read-watch-listen-blog/entry/cook-library-cinema-club-love-gone-wrong
http://cooklib.org/index.php/read-watch-listen-blog/entry/cook-library-cinema-club-love-gone-wrongValentine's Day is approaching: a time to celebrate love and lovers. We enjoy a great romantic comedy as much as the next person, but it's often much more fun to watch a film about love gone terribly wrong! Think Gone Girl....

Here's a selection of some of our favorite films that feature couples who definitely do not live happily ever after. We're not sure what it means that both Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas appear in more than one of these! Did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know!

Revolutionary Road (2008): Frank and April Wheeler, a seemingly perfect young couple, become disenchanted with the dreariness of their mid-1950s suburban lives. While dreaming of a more fulfilling future, both find it difficult to remain true to their ideals. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio star in this intense drama. The film is based on the Richard Yates novelby the same name, which is considered a masterpiece of realistic fiction.

Unfaithful(2002): In this steamy thriller, a previously happy suburban housewife becomes obsessed with a handsome stranger and begins an affair, with absolutely shattering consequences for her family. Richard Gere stars alongside Diane Lane, who scored a well-deserved Oscar nomination for best actress for her memorable performance.

War of the Roses (1989): When their marriage disintegrates, Barbara and Oliver Rose set out to destroy each other during their divorce proceedings. Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas play the battling duo in this 1989 film adaptation of the Warren Adler novel. Danny DeVito, who also directed, shines in a supporting role as a truly nasty divorce attorney.

Fatal Attraction (1987): A true classic! With his wife out of town, a married man makes some very big mistakes. Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) gets more than he bargained for after a one-night-stand with a possessive co-worker. This 1988 best picture nominee showcases Oscar-nominated performances by Glenn Close and Anne Archer.

Body Heat (1981): Set in Florida during a brutal heatwave, Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner in a signature role) seduces a sleazy small-town lawyer (William Hurt), and soon convinces him that the only thing standing in the way of their future happiness is her rich husband. If you think the situation seems ripe for a murder plot, you're right. The hit film also stars Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, and Mickey Rourke.

A Place in the Sun (1954): Another best picture nominee. A poor factory worker determined to get ahead in the world falls in love with a beautiful young socialite. Both his relationship and his social-climbing ambitions are threatened when his lower-class, former girlfriend informs him of her pregnancy. The all-star cast includes Elizabeth Taylor and Oscar nominees Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters. The 1951 film is based on Theodore Dreiser's classic novel, An American Tragedy.

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946, 1981): An unhappy, young wife begins an affair with an amoral drifter, and together they plot the demise of her brutish husband. James M. Cain's 1934 classic novel of greed and lust set the standard for all noir novels that followed. The story has been filmed twice: in 1946with Lana Turner and John Garfield, and again in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. Both versions are great—why not watch them both?

Becky King bking@cooklib.org

]]>bking@cooklib.org (Becky King)ReadwatchlistenThu, 12 Feb 2015 07:30:00 -0600Pick of the Week: A Touch of Stardust by Kate Alcotthttp://cooklib.org/index.php/read-watch-listen-blog/entry/pick-of-the-week-a-touch-of-stardust-by-kate-alcott
http://cooklib.org/index.php/read-watch-listen-blog/entry/pick-of-the-week-a-touch-of-stardust-by-kate-alcottI really enjoyed this novel of Old Hollywood. It’s set during the shooting of Gone with the Wind in 1939, and you can’t get more classic than that. Alcott has researched her topic in detail and brings to life the manic, exacting producer David O. Selznick, the weary, blustering Clark Gable, and his wife, the big-hearted, exuberant, plain-spoken Carole Lombard.

However, the famous folks aren’t the main characters in the story. Rather, the protagonist is Julie Crawford, a young, determined Indiana girl fresh from Smith College, who is ready to make her way in Hollywood as a screenwriter. The story begins with Crawford’s first day on the Gone with the Wind set in 1938 and ends after the premiere of the movie a year later, in Atlanta in December 1939. She quickly learns how difficult it is for women to succeed in Hollywood, or even to be taken seriously. She enters into a relationship with Andy Weinstein, Selznick’s assistant producer and right hand, who’s been in the business long enough to look at the world with a jaded eye. Crawford’s naiveté is a good counterpoint to Weinstein's cynicism, and their rocky relationship drives the plot.

Alcott is no stranger to research: she has had a long and distinguished career in journalism and politics under her own name, Patricia O'Brien (Kate Alcott is her pseudonym). Besides her own detailed research for the book, she had some help from someone who had firsthand experience with Old Hollywood: her husband, the late Frank Mankiewicz, was the son of Herman Mankiewicz, the screenwriter for Citizen Kane and the nephew of Joseph L. Mankiewicz, the Academy-Award winning director of All About Eve, who appears in the book.

Alcott describes her main character best in the epilogue: “Julie is one version of Everywoman—that girl in any generation at any point in history who strikes out with a small arsenal of choices and expands them to search for—if not always to find—what she wants.” While this plot, small-town girl makes good in Hollywood, could be a cliché, it manages to feel authentic and the details about the outsize personalities and inner workings of the movie business are fascinating. This is a fun, entertaining read.

]]>alarson@cooklib.org (Andrea Larson)ReadwatchlistenTue, 10 Feb 2015 09:41:59 -0600Grammy Winners You Can Listen to Nowhttp://cooklib.org/index.php/read-watch-listen-blog/entry/grammy-winners-you-can-listen-to-now
http://cooklib.org/index.php/read-watch-listen-blog/entry/grammy-winners-you-can-listen-to-nowIf you're catching up on the winners and nominees from last night's Grammy awards, we've got you covered with our free eLibrary music services, Hoopla and Freegal.

Hoopla allows you to check out up to 8 albums a month while Freegal allows you to download 3 songs a week or stream as many songs as you want any time of day. Both are free to you with your Cook Memorial Library card (lucky you!).

To get caught up, click on any of the blue links below. There're lots of categories (83 to be exact), each with several nominees, but here are selections to get you started; find the full list of nominees and winners in each category at the Grammy's website.

Sam Smith undoubtedly had the biggest night of all the attendees. He not only won for Best New Artist, but "Stay With Me" won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year; his album In the Lonely Hour won Best Pop Vocal album (yes, four Grammys in one night).

Beck's win for Album of the Year for Morning Phase surprised many people, including Beck, who thought Beyoncé's self-titled album would win the category. Morning Phase also won the Best Rock Album category. You can find his back catalog at Hoopla if you want to explore who Beck is.

As is the case with most who work in libraries, I love to read and will try to read lots of different genres and in different types of formats. However, I keep coming back to stories that are told with illustrations as much as they are told in words. The stories this way, generally referred to as a graphic novel, can be as varied as the different categories of literature that exist: romance, comedy, literary fiction, memoir, metafiction, true crime, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, nonfiction, and many others.

If graphic novels can be so varied, then exactly what is a graphic novel? Well, it can be many things, which is what I love about it! The simplest definition is that a graphic novel is a story presented in a comic-book style format. However, this definition belies the literary and artistic merits of most graphic novels.

So, where should you start? You could just dive right in and grab a graphic novel the next time you’re in the library. However, if you’re wanting a bit of guidance, these titles are all good introductions to the format.

Considered by many to be one of the best graphic novels, Watchmen tells the story of a group of superheroes, their very human faults, and an alternate 20th-century history. You might have seen the movie, but there are enough differences to make it feel completely new.Sidenote: This entire list could just be a list of all of Alan Moore's graphic novels, but I’m aiming for an introduction to all graphic novels. Still, if you like Watchmen, check out V for Vendetta, From Hell, and any of Moore's Batman Stories.

More graphic memoir than graphic novel, Bechdel shares her life growing up in the town’s funeral home, run by her father, a charismatic yet difficult man. While she's in college, Bechdel comes out as a lesbian to her family. It is not until her father's death a couple weeks later that she learns that he was also gay. A rewarding read that focuses not only on Bechdel's family but draws many literary allusions along the way.

Told from two viewpoints (and in two books) Boxers & Saints chronicles the story of China's Boxer Rebellion of 1900. In Boxers, we read the events as told by a young Chinese man who helps rural villagers fight the recent influx of Europeans and Christianity. In Saints, a young Chinese woman who sees the arrival of Christianity as a calling and an escape, recounts events from her view. Magical realism combines with beautiful illustrations to make for an entertaining, thoughtful, and emotional telling of this short period in history.

This is one of the first graphic novels I read and it made me fall in love with the form. The illustrations tell most of the story with words and dialog providing an emotional punch. Despite its pithiness, this novel is no less rich and engaging. Focusing on Jimmy Corrigan, a middle-aged “loser” who gets the chance to meet his father, the story jumps between 1980s Michigan and 1890s Chicago and the building of the World’s Fair. Weeks after finishing it, you'll be thinking about it.

Music fans are eagerly anticipating the 57th annual Grammy Awards ceremony, which will air locally on CBS this Sunday, February 8th at 7 p.m. In recent years, it seems the show has packed in more live performances than actual award presentations and this year's celebration promises to be no exception. Among the industry superstars scheduled to perform are Rhianna, Kanye West, Madonna, AC/DC, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Jesse J, Ed Sheeran, Usher, Ariana Grande, and Sam Smith.

One of the most hotly contested Grammy races this year is for the trophy to be awarded to the best new artist. The five nominees are a truly diverse group, representing the worlds of rock, pop, soul, country, and hip-hop. Check out the debut albums of these talented artists and find out why they are setting the music industry on fire. You can find each of these CDs on the library's shelves (linked below) or you may download/stream most of them instantly from Hoopla.

Have a listen and then root for your favorite new artist on Sunday night!

Brandy Clark is no stranger to country music fans. Before striking out on her own this past year, the talented songstress had already proven herself a gifted songwriter, having penned hit tunes for popular country artists including Miranda Lambert and The Band Perry. The song "Follow Your Heart" from her debut album 12 Stories has already been named song of the year by the Country Music Association and the album is nominated for a Grammy for best country album.

British rock band Bastille first hit it big in the U.K. in 2013 and their appeal is proving to be just as great on this side of the Atlantic. The band's hit single "Pompeii" from their debut albumBad Blood cracked the top 10 of the Billboard 100 and proved popular on the group's 2013 arena tour as the opening act for Muse. The album was recently awarded the British breakthrough act trophy at the 2014 BRIT awards.

The three Haim sisters from California began rocking on stage with their parents more than 10 years ago, and decided to go it alone in 2006. Their long-awaited pop-rock debut album Days Are Gone landed six hit singles on the rock charts in the past year and Pitchfork named the album one of the decade's best so far. The group has toured with top acts including Mumford & Sons and Rhianna, and a sophomore album is already in the works.

Australian-born rap star Iggy Azalea's smash hit "Fancy" from her debut album The New Classic dominated the charts in 2014, ultimately earning Billboard's Song of the Summer honors. Azalea has also struck gold in memorable collaborations with a bevy of new artists including Charli XCX, Ariana Grande, Rita Ora, and MØ. Having opened for Beyoncé on select arena tour dates in 2013, the hot new artist will be heading out on her own highly anticipated arena tour in 2015.

British pop star Sam Smith knows his way around soulful ballads. His debut album In the Lonely Hour has so far produced two smash hit singles here in the U.S. ("Stay with Me" and "I'm Not the Only One"). He garnered six Grammy nominations for his efforts, including nods for song of the year, record of the year, and album of the year. Odds are high that American fans of Smith's powerful vocals have a lot to look forward to in the years to come.